Raiders players react to departure of receiver Antonio Brown

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - AUGUST 15: Wide receiver Antonio Brown #84 and quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders talk on the sidelines during the first half of the NFL preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on August 15, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Two days before their season opener, the Raiders began adjusting Saturday to the certainty of playing without Antonio Brown.

Raiders players said they were turning their focus to Monday night’s opener against the Broncos after a preseason dominated by headlines about Brown.

“I mean, it’s been crazy,” receiver Tyrell Williams said. “We feel like how everybody else feels. It’s been wild. It’s been crazy. It’s been unexpected. But we’re going to go out there and play regardless. It sucks that he’s not here, but he made that decision. We’re going to go out there and play regardless.”

On Friday, Brown had apologized to the team after a confrontation with general manager Mike Mayock earlier in the week. Linebacker Tahir Whitehead, a Raiders captain, said he hadn’t expected Brown’s release to happen.

“But at the end of the day, it did, and you can’t really put too much thought into it,” Whitehead said. “He didn’t want to be here. And we tried to support him. But at the end of the day, the rest of the guys in here we think are team-first. And if obviously you don’t possess that type of mentality, then it’s not going to work out.”

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Players spoke Saturday after practice and before news broke of Brown’s agreement with the Patriots. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict, another captain, wished Brown well.

“A.B., he’s our teammate, hate to see him gone,” Burfict said. “Hopefully, he can get everything cleaned up. He’s a great football player. But, like I said, we’re worried about Monday.”

Burfict said defensive coordinator Paul Guenther had reminded his unit: “A.B.’s not tackling for us. We’re playing defense. Our job is to go out there and stop them from scoring, and that’s all we’ve got on our plate.”

Head coach Jon Gruden said he felt Brown’s saga “overshadowed a lot of great performances” in preseason from young players on the Raiders’ roster. Gruden also said team captains “did a great job trying to make this work” with Brown.

Quarterback and captain Derek Carr did not address reporters Saturday. Williams said the offense was prepared to adapt without Brown.

“Whether he’s here or not, we all have a job to do,” Williams said. “I know everybody’s excited, more guys are going to get opportunities. So I think we’re going to go out there and still do our job well. We have all the confidence in the world in everybody we have.”